Electrolytic deposition of metals



Sept. 28, 1926. 1,601,691

' M. M. MERRITT ELECTROLYTIC DEPOSITION OF METALS Fil August 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept.

,M. M. MERRITT ELECTROLYTIC DEPOSITION OF METALS Filed August 20 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented sea; 28,1926.

2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Y MATTHEW 1n. mnnmrr, or MIDDLETON,

v massecnusn'r'rs, nssron'on 'ro mnus'rnm. .nnvnnormnnr conroiwrronror PORTLAND, MAINE, A oonrona'rron or mama.

V ELECTROLYTIC DEPOSITIGN OF METALS.

Application filed August 20, 1925. semi No. 51,318.

M invention pertains to improvements in e ectrolytic apparatus, and particularly but not exclusivelyto apparatus for making sheet metal by electro-deposition.

My .invention will be best understood from the following description when read in the light of the accompanying draw ngs of one specific embodiment of my invention selected for illustrative purposes, the scope of my invention will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a plan of apparatus arranged according to my invention with the mechanism for controlling the position of the swinging pipe shown more or less (1 1- grammatically Figs. 2, 3,4, .and 6 are respective sections on the lines 2-2, 3-3. 44, 5-5 and 66 of Fig; 1, all except Fig. 2 being on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown -a cylindrical drum 1 provided with taper- F in'g ends 3, the drum' being formed of wood,

porcelaln or other suitable'non-conductmg material and carrying intermediate its length an endless sheet 5 of copper or other g suitable conductive material constituting a cathode on which the sheetmaterial to be formed is deposited from the electrolyte. The length of the cathode corresponds to the width of .the sheet which is lndicated at 7. As thesheet 7 is de osited on the cathode it is stripped theref i-om by means of a rotating drum 9, the surface of cathode 5 being treated with mercury to form thereon a coating 10 of amalgam which facilitates the stripping operation. For I'Otittr mg the drums land 9 in order to strip the deposited sheet from the former and wind it upon the latter-the same are respectively carried on shafts 11 and-13 which are 'con- 'jointly rotated by suitable mechanism notnecessagy to be described herein. The. rum lisin contact conveniently to a, depth of .approximatel' one-third its di -i ameter with a swiftlyowing continuous indicated at 15 in Fig.-- ,2, The electrolyte flows .by the drum in a trough 17 having a while i "the electrolyte flowing over the only one of whi h however trolled by stream of electrolyte'the level of which is 17 by 1it IHiI fi-Li 5 Own befall-12 conductive metal .insoluble inthe electrolyte whidh close proximity to the surface of the oathode 5. The level of the liquid in the trough is maintained substantially horizontal, that is parallel to the axis of the drum, by means of a dam 19 having a lower opening 21 through which the major portion of the electrolyte passes, the remaining POItiOfi oi am through a notch formed in its upper edge. Y

he electrolyte leaving the trough 17 discharges into a trough 23 from WhlCll it dis charges through a pipe 25 leading to a pump 27, the latter forcing the electrolyte through a pipe 29 dischar g into a tank 3] containing a body of so uble metal-bearing material 33 for replenishing the electrolyte. This soluble material may be in any suitable form as for example ore, suitab e metallic salts, or metal scrap, prefer-. a'olv the latter.

The electrolyte discharges from one end of the tank 31 through orifices 35 into a downwardly inclined chute 37 provided with baflles 39 for thoroughly mixing the electrolyte. The chute 37 discharges into a distributing trough 41 with which may communicate any number of troughs 17, is shown in the giving the electrolyte a considerable velocity as it passes through the troughs 17 between the cathode and anode, the chute connecting the trough 41 with the trough 17 atits bottom is in the formof an apron 42. The amount of elecdrawings. For

constituting an anode the surface of.

is uniformly distributed in relatively trolyte entermg each trough 17, if a pl'urality of troughs 17 are provided, is conderstood of course that if but one trough 7 is provided the gate 4:5 will be unnecesg; pract1ce the posltive pole is connected'to the linin .18 of the trough ning the length of that portionof t e lina suitable gate 43, it being unof a suitable source of direct current electro-motive force ing opposite the cathode 5 while the latter I connecting is connected to the negative pole of the same source of elect-ro-motive force. For thus the cathode I have herein conventional y illustrated a brush 44 which contacts .a metal 'ring 45 carried by the shaft 11 the latter being placed in communication with the cathode 5 by a conductor 46 (Fig. 6). It will be observed that the metal-bearing material 33 in the tank 31 is maintained at the same potential as the lining 18 of the trough by reason of the fact that the electrolyte constitutes a conductor placing the two in electrical communication. I have found that by thus impressing suflicientflpotentialon the metalbearing material the metal of the same will enter 1nto solution in the electrolyte and by suitably proportioning the amount of surface of metal-bearing material to the amount of electrolyte acting in a given time on said surface I can eiiect replacement in the electrolyte of the metal deposited V therefrom on the cathode 5. This method concerned with the regulation of metal cont I have found that amount of metal in tent or specific gravity of the electrolyte which preferably is done by maintaining the solution between pre- For depositing copper satisfactory results can determined limits.

' be obtained by maintaining the metal content between limits corresponding to 26 and. 32 ounces of copper sulphate crystals per I gallon of electrolyte, the sulphuric acid concentrat-ion at these limits being respectively 10 and 6 percent, and these limits of metal and acid content respectively corresponding to electrolyte.specific-gravities of 1.18 and 1.24.

For thus regulating the metal content, or specific gravity of the. electrolyte I have herein illustrated the pipe 29 as provided witha terminal discharge portion or nozzle 47 which may be swung lengthwise of the tank 31. .It will be understood that if the pipe 47 is swung from its full line position in Fig. 1 to its dotted line osition that -.inater1ally less-electrolyte wil act on the metal-bearing material in a given time because there will' be 7 substantially no flow of electrolyte throu h the tank to the left of thedischarge out et of the pipe. Ifde sired the bottom of the til-may beinclined downwardly toward the discharge orifices 35 so as to accentuate the desired action, but I have found that satisfactory results may be obtained with the bottom of the box disposed horizontally. If desired for increasing the efi'ect of swinging the pipe the metal-bearing material' may be deposited in the tank with its upper level as indicated by the dotted line 49, Fig. 2.

Although the ipe 47 may be swung manually I have s own herein for swinging the pipe power means in the form of an electric motor 51 carried by a bracket on the pipe 29, the pipes 47 and 29 being connected by means of a swivel joint 53 (Fig. 3) having an actuating stem 55 carrying aworm Wheel 57 meshing with a worm 59 on the shaft of themotor. Asxwill be'obvious the pipe 57 may be swung in opposite directions by rotating the motor 51 in opposite directions.

For controlling the motor 57 and thus swing the pipe 47 I have diagrammatically illustrated a form of reversing switch having the switch blades 61 and the three con tacts 63 of which the two outer contacts are connected to one terminal of the motor while the central contact is connectedto the other terminal of the motor. cated a source of direct current electromotive force connected to the upper ends of the arms 61 about which ends the arms swing. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, if the two arms 61 are swung to either side of the position shown in Fig. 1 so as to cause the arms to rest on a pair of contacts 63, the motor will be operated in one or the other of opposite directions.

For efiecting operation of the motor when desired automatically in response to changes in specific gravity or metal content of-the electrolyte so as to swing the pipe 47 towardthe discharge end of the box 31 when the metal content of the electrolyte increases to a predetermined limit and. to swing. it toward the opposite end of the box when the metal content of the electrolyte decreases t a predetermined limit, I have provided a float or hydrometer actuated mechanism for actuating the switch arms 31, the float '65 bein positioned at the discharge end of the c ute 37 as indicated at 65 in Fig. 2-.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the float 65 of the hydrometer or float 5 actuated mechanism above referred to has: attached thereto a stem 69 which carries a block of insulating material 71 the latter. carrying a ring contact 73 which cooperates with stationary spring contacts 75 and 77. The block of insulating material 71 is attached to the/stem 69 by a rod 79 screw-threaded intothe end-of the stem which enables me to vary the distance between the float and ring contact by rotating 7 9. As will I have indibe obvious, raising or will cause the ring contact to contact with the leaf contact 75 or 77.

For causing the float mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4 to actuate the switch arms (51 for eifecting rotation of the motor 51 controlling the swinging pipe 47, the ring contact 73 is connected by means of leads 81 and 83 to one terminal of a battery or the like 85, the other terminal of this battery being connected to one end of solenoids 87 and 89. The other ends of the solenoids 87 and 89 are respectively connected to contacts 91 and 93 with which cooperate switch arms 95 and 97 drawn toward the contacts 91 and 93-by means of a spring 98 and actuated by stops 99 and 101 carried by the worm wheels 5-7 in such manner that when the worm wheel is at the ends of its travel, corresponding to the full line and dotted line positions of. the pipe 47, it moves the corresponding switch arm 95 or 97 out of contact. with its associated Contact 91 or 93.

The switch arm 95 is connected by means of a lead 103 with the spring contact 77 while the opposite switch arm 97 is connected by means of a lead 105 with the spring contact 75. It will be observed that with the parts in the position shown by Fig. 1 if the float 67 rises to place the ring contact 73 into contact with the spring contact 75, the solenoid 89 will be energized, while if the worm wheel 57 were at the opposite end of its travel so that the switch arm 95 were in contact with the contact 91 and the float moved down so as to bring the ring contact 73 into contact with the spring contact 77, the solenoid 87 would be energized. As shown the switch arms 61 are connected by means of abar 107 of insulating material which at opposite ends carries armatures 109 and 111, so that energizing one or the other of the solenoids 87 and 89 will cause the associated armature to. be drawn into the I solenoid and move the arms 61 to one of their extreme positions against the resistanceof one or the other of the springs 113 holding the arms 61 in neutral position when neither solenoid is energized.

It will thus-be observed that if the parts are in the position shown by Fig. 1 an increase in the specific gravity of the electrolyte sufiicient tofcau'se the float-to rise. far enough to place the ring contact 73 into contact with the'spring contact 75 will cause operation of the motor 57 and swing the pipe 47 into its dotted line osition, and that when the pipe reaches its otted line position the stop 101 will move the switch arm 97 out ofcontact with the contact 93' to effect interruption of the circuit through the solenoid 89. thus deenergizing the I latter and causm the reversin switch to assume its neutra position in w ich position the motor 57 is dee nergized. When the pipe 47 is in have moved away from the switch arm allowing the latter to move into contact with the contact 91 which places the solenoid S7 in condition to be energized, and thus effect rotation of the motor 57 in the direction in which it will move the pipe 47 from its dotted to full line position, when the float descends due to a decrease in the metal content of the electrolyte, sufliciently to move the ring contact 73 into contact with the spring contact 77.

It further will be observed-that by adjusting the stops 99 and 101 relatively to the worm wheel 57 and switch arms 95 and 97 I can operatively remove from the circulat-' ing electrolyte varying amounts of the soluble metal bearing material by changing the extent of the arc of travel of the swinging pipe 47.

Although I have described for purposes of illustration one specific embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I am a not limited thereby to its particular details but that in the scope of my invention wide deviations can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1. The method of increasing the metal content of an electrolyte which consists in allowing the electrolyte to act on metalbearing material while controlling the rate of solution of metal into the electrolyte by varying the amount of metal-bearing material on which the electrolyte acts.

2. The method of increasing the metal content of an electrolyte which consists in allowing the electrolyte to act on metalbearing material on which is impressed an electrical potential .while controlling the rate of solution of metal into the electrolyte by varying the amount of metal-bearing material onwhich the electrolyte acts.

3. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising. in combination, a cathode, conductive material constituting an anode, means for passing lowering of the float its dotted line position the contact 99 will the electrolyte between said anode and cath- I amounts of said body of soluble material.

4. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode, conductive material constituting an anode, means for passing the electrolyte between said anode and cathode, a body of soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, and means for passing the electrolytein contact with vary ing amounts of said body of soluble material.

5. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode, insoluble conductive material constituting an anode, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte between said cathode and anode and in contact with said soluble material, and means for operatively removing from the circulating electrolyte a portion of said soluble material.

6. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode, conductive material constituting an anode, soluble metal-bearing operatively removing from the circulating electrolyte a portion of said soluble material.

8. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode, insoluble conductive material constituting an anode, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte between said cathode and anode and in contact with said soluble material, and means comprising a swinging pipe discharging electrolyte for operatively removing from the circulating electrolyte a portion of said solublematerial; 4 r

9. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode, insoluble conductive material constituting an anode, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishingthe electrolyte, means for circulating the elec trolyte between said cathode and anode and in contact with said soluble material, a

swinging pipe discharging the electrolyte on soluble material, power means for swinging said i e and means res onsive to a chan e in specific avity of the electrolyte for actuating sai ower means.

10. ,Electro ytic ap' aratus, comprising in combination, a catho e for deposition thereon of-metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, and means for passing the electrolyte in contact with" varying amounts of said soluble metal-bearing material.

11. Electrolytic ap aratus, comprising in combination, a catho e for depositionthereon of' metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for re lenishing the electrolyte, and means for su jectin varying amounts of said soluble materia to the electrolyte comprising a swinging discharge pipe for theelectrolyte.

12. Electrolytic apparatus,

tively removing from combination, a cathode for deposition thereon of me tal from' the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, and means responsive to a change in specific gravity of the electrolyte for var ing the amount of soluble'material su jected to'the electrolyte.

13. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode for deposition thereon of metal from the electrolyte, soluble metaLbearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for subjecting varying amounts of said soluble material to the electrolyte' comprising a swinging discharge pipe for the electrolyte, and power means responsive to changes in specific gravity of the electrolyte forswinging said discharge 14. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode for deposition there.- on of metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte past said cathode and in contact with said soluble material, and means for opera-- tively removing from the circulating electrolyte a portion of said soluble material.

15. Electrolytic apparatus, comprising in combination, a cathode for. depositlon thereon of metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte past said cathode and in contact with said soluble materiahltand means for operahe circulating electro- I lyte variable amounts of said soluble material.

16. Electrolytic ap aratus', comprising in combination, a catho e for deposition thereon of metal from the electrolyte soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte past said cathode and in contact with said soluble material, and means automatically responsive to a change in specific gravity of said electrolyte for operatively removing from the circulating electrolyte a portion of said soluble material.

17. Electrolytic ap aratus, comprising in combination, a catho e for deposition thereon of metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material for replenishing the electrolyte, means for circulating the electrolyte past said cathode and in contact with :said soluble material, and means comprising a swinging pipe discharging electrolyte for operatively removing from the circulatg electrolyte a portionof said soluble material. a

18. Electrolytic ap' aratus, comprisingin combination, a catho e for depositionthereon of metal from the electrolyte, soluble metal-bearing material forreplenishingthe electrolyte, means for circulating the electrocomprisingin lyte past saidinwontactwith said soluble material, and means for lengthcombination, a cathode, insoluble conductive material constituting an anode,

metal-bearing material for replenishing the soluble electrolyte, means for circulating theelectromeans for lengthening portion of the stream of circulating electrolyte between said cathode and anode and in 10 contact with said soluble material, and and shortening the lyte in contact with said soluble material.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 1 name to this specification.

MATTHEW M. MERRITT. 

